Chapter Sixteen
The water felt good as he immersed his body into the cool depths of the pool. The swimming pool was empty except for a couple of old women, who were propped up at one end, and talking to each other. Jay started swimming, and soon found himself forgetting about the difficulty he had in persuading himself to leave his apartment and come down here. This is something he should have done years ago. He could only remember coming here a few times since he moved in.
He told himself that he would start coming once a day. Apart from the exercise, which was surely beneficial to him, it would be a gentle way for him to start connecting with other people. He could do so at his own pace. The next day, he told himself he should try to have a short conversation with someone. Just a few minutes would be enough, and he thought of the receptionist he had noticed as he had come in. Yes, that would be a good place to start, and he started to picture himself in front of her, talking.
What would he say? How would he begin? He had it – he would ask about the sauna, which he knew had to be booked. Then he thought, why wait until tomorrow? He could do it today. He toyed with this idea as he swam up and down, but by the time he was ready to leave the pool he had forgotten about the idea and his mind was on Aimee once again.
What was stopping him from meeting her tonight? Should he not suggest meeting? Did dhe still play the flute? She had told him she had stopped taking lessons when they had been separated, but didn’t she still play from time to time? If she didn’t, he felt it was only right for him to encourge her to start up again. He felt as if it was almost his fault that she had not continued playing music and taking lessons. Would her life be any different if she had continued playing? And what about if they had continued seeing each other through their teens?
He was sure that they would have ended up having a relationship. That was the way it had been going. Perhaps they would have ended up living together, even having a child? Suppose things went well now? Would it not be possible to make up for all the time they had lost? Was that not the idea she had? He was certain that Aimee and himself were destined to be together. It seemed so obvious, and filled himself with excitment that he hardly noticed the other people as he dressed and headed back to his apartment. Past the other gym users who had started to arrive in greater numbers now that some of them had finished work. Past the blank receptionist who did not even notice him leave, so engrossed was she with something on her monitor. Past the people dressed up to go out. Jay even stepped into the lift and ascended to the third floor with a neighbour. They didn’t register each other, however. But this didn’t feel strange. His neighbour, a smartly dressed man in a grey suit, white shirt and red tie turned right and stepped into the opposite section of the building to where Jay lived, without saying a word. Jay didn’t notice, however, as he was engrossed in his own personla fantasy.
As he got to his door, he stopped, and stared out of the windwo again. What he saw disturbed his train of thought, and brought back the anxiety.
607 words
11,193 in total
He told himself that he would start coming once a day. Apart from the exercise, which was surely beneficial to him, it would be a gentle way for him to start connecting with other people. He could do so at his own pace. The next day, he told himself he should try to have a short conversation with someone. Just a few minutes would be enough, and he thought of the receptionist he had noticed as he had come in. Yes, that would be a good place to start, and he started to picture himself in front of her, talking.
What would he say? How would he begin? He had it – he would ask about the sauna, which he knew had to be booked. Then he thought, why wait until tomorrow? He could do it today. He toyed with this idea as he swam up and down, but by the time he was ready to leave the pool he had forgotten about the idea and his mind was on Aimee once again.
What was stopping him from meeting her tonight? Should he not suggest meeting? Did dhe still play the flute? She had told him she had stopped taking lessons when they had been separated, but didn’t she still play from time to time? If she didn’t, he felt it was only right for him to encourge her to start up again. He felt as if it was almost his fault that she had not continued playing music and taking lessons. Would her life be any different if she had continued playing? And what about if they had continued seeing each other through their teens?
He was sure that they would have ended up having a relationship. That was the way it had been going. Perhaps they would have ended up living together, even having a child? Suppose things went well now? Would it not be possible to make up for all the time they had lost? Was that not the idea she had? He was certain that Aimee and himself were destined to be together. It seemed so obvious, and filled himself with excitment that he hardly noticed the other people as he dressed and headed back to his apartment. Past the other gym users who had started to arrive in greater numbers now that some of them had finished work. Past the blank receptionist who did not even notice him leave, so engrossed was she with something on her monitor. Past the people dressed up to go out. Jay even stepped into the lift and ascended to the third floor with a neighbour. They didn’t register each other, however. But this didn’t feel strange. His neighbour, a smartly dressed man in a grey suit, white shirt and red tie turned right and stepped into the opposite section of the building to where Jay lived, without saying a word. Jay didn’t notice, however, as he was engrossed in his own personla fantasy.
As he got to his door, he stopped, and stared out of the windwo again. What he saw disturbed his train of thought, and brought back the anxiety.
607 words
11,193 in total
posted by blog-efl at 13.11.04
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home